Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $1.75 Million Stock Position in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its holdings in Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE:ROK) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,120 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Rockwell Automation were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in Rockwell Automation by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,033 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,083,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 4,195 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $386,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,082 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of Rockwell Automation by 41.0% during the 4th quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 141 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.75% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ROK shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Rockwell Automation from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $350.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $315.00 to $337.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Rockwell Automation from $245.00 to $240.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. KeyCorp raised Rockwell Automation from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered Rockwell Automation from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $307.68.

Rockwell Automation Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of ROK opened at $258.67 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $280.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $278.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.08. Rockwell Automation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $242.81 and a 52-week high of $308.70. The company has a market cap of $29.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.21, a PEG ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.39.

Rockwell Automation (NYSE:ROK) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.22. Rockwell Automation had a return on equity of 30.17% and a net margin of 11.38%. Analysts predict that Rockwell Automation, Inc. will post 9.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Rockwell Automation Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $1.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $5.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Rockwell Automation’s payout ratio is currently 65.26%.

Insider Transactions at Rockwell Automation

In other news, VP Scott Genereux sold 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.14, for a total transaction of $145,070.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 1,905 shares in the company, valued at $552,716.70. The trade was a 20.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Tessa M. Myers sold 1,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.43, for a total value of $351,364.33. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,041,819.50. This represents a 25.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 4,352 shares of company stock worth $1,246,298 over the last 90 days. 0.68% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Rockwell Automation Profile

Rockwell Automation, Inc provides industrial automation and digital transformation solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. The company operates through three segments, Intelligent Devices, Software & Control, and Lifecycle Services. Its solutions include hardware and software products and services.